Rockland residents hear about pluses of one-elementary-school idea

ROCKLAND – Residents at town meeting Monday night will decide whether to take a major step toward building a new elementary school to replace the town’s three existing elementary schools.

School officials talked about the proposal at an informational meeting Tuesday night at Rockland High School. About 20 residents attended.

School Superintendent Dr. Alan Cron explained that the new school would replace the Memorial Park and Jefferson elementary schools. The Esten Elementary School would be turned into an early childhood center for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students.

The new school would be for grades 1 through 4.

Cron said the town’s elementary schools are more than 50 years old, need major upgrades and do not meet today’s educational requirements. He said the new elementary school, combined with the middle and high school building that is just a few years old, would put the town in a good place for decades to come.

On Feb. 15, the Massachusetts School Building Authority voted to invite Rockland into the authority’s 270-day eligibility period to be considered for state funding to build a new elementary school. During that period, the town must meet certain deadlines. For example, the timeline calls for funding a feasibility study by May 1 and forming a school building committee by June 2.

The building committee will have up to 20 members and be composed of residents and town officials.

On Monday, town meeting will be asked to approve an $800,000 feasibility study that would determine the design, location and cost of the new school. Thanks to 58 percent reimbursement from the state, the actual cost to the town would be about $336,000, Cron said.

If the town meets the state authority’s eligibility requirements, the proposed project will go into the state’s funding pipeline. At least half of the construction cost would be paid by the authority.

Cron said 86 school districts applied for acceptance into the state authority’s latest needs-based program, and Rockland was among the 24 districts whose applicants were approved.

Selectman Deidre Hall voiced concern about having all the town’s elementary students under one roof.

“Traditionally, elementary schools are made to be neighborhood schools at a smaller size,” she said.

Cron said Rockland was the first district to go with a “consolidated model.” He said the state authority has embraced the idea, which has spread to other towns.

“The benefits of having grades 1 to 4 in one building are cultural, instructional and curricular,” the superintendent said. “Financially, it would allow us to offer much more to all of our kids.”

School committee member Dan Biggins said having a single elementary school would provide “educational equity” and would be preferable to having neighborhood schools that are in varying conditions.

Cron, the superintendent, said the proposed feasibility study would answer all questions. A year from now, the “taxpayers will know exactly what we are planning,” he said.

“My hope is we build the best (grades) 1-to-4 elementary school that’s ever been built,” he said.